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A moment for all housewives on this Labour Day

Labor/May day is being celebrated in many countries today. This day is celebrated to commemorate the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago. This is a day dedicated especially to the labor and their rights. It is a day off and is lined with lengthy speeches and seminars talking about the rights of labor. To be honest, for many people it is just another holiday, just another reason to be in bed late till night, just another opportunity to watch the latest movies on Netflix and yeah chill too. However, not every labor is lucky enough to be celebrated and acknowledged. Yes, there is a huge faction of labor that is unpaid and not even considered labor. I am talking about the housewives.’

Labor of love

Women in many parts of the world contribute a greater share in the workforce at home. In some cases, they are the only workforce in a household. A housewife wakes up early in the morning before anyone else, makes sure everyone had their share of crisp hot breakfast, cleans the house, prepares the meals, makes sure the laundry is always done and goes to sleep in the end after working for the longest work hours. And a cherry on the top is the love that a housewife invests in all these tedious chores. A labor of love!

What do you do all day?

But how many of us ever recognized the roles of these housewives who play a vital role in the progress of many ‘high achievers’? Not only their efforts go unnoticed but we also belittle them for their services. Many of the housewives in our households also hold higher education but due to cultural/social norms, they have to stay home and perform domestic duties. It is not an easy job as requires long working hours and varied tasks. Many housewives not only do their best in homes but also work outside the house.

But is it the only unfortunate part? It is unacknowledged and thankless.

https://twitter.com/AmanHChoudhry/status/1123556679151509510

They say a home is a woman’s empire. But how many women have the hold of their empires? Many housewives in societies like Pakistan are not even given a decent(if not equal) share in the house income; leave aside the control of their lives. The unpaid labor of love!

Maybe this day is only for the paid labor. Unrecognized and unpaid labor stands no chance. Hence the housewives and their hard work stands unheard of.

‘Is it just a housewife?’

As Ryshell Castleberry poetically says

Somebody asked her
You are a woman who works or is it just “housewife“?
She replied:
I work as a wife of the home, 24 hours a day…
I am a mother,
I am a woman,
I am a daughter,
I’m the alarm clock,
I’m the cook,
I’m the maid,
I am the master,
I’m the bartender,
I’m the babysitter,
I’m a nurse,
I am a manual worker,
I’m a security officer,
I’m the advisor,
I am the comforter,
I don’t have a vacation,
I don’t have a license for disease.
I don’t have a day off,
I work day and night,
I’m on duty all the time,
I do not receive a salary and…
Even so, I often hear the phrase:
”But what do you do all day?”

On this May Day, let’s take a moment to pay our respects to these domestic heroes we never bothered to thank or acknowledge. Just a minute won’t hurt.

 

 

 

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